Macedonia’s Health Insurance Fund and Interior Ministry are developing a data-sharing system designed to detect potential sick leave abuse, including cases in which employees leave the country while officially absent from work for medical reasons.
Health Insurance Fund Director Zlatko Perinski said the new mechanism would provide the fund with timely information when a person on sick leave crosses the border.
The fund would not have the authority to stop anyone from traveling. Instead, the information could trigger an additional review to determine whether the employee had violated the conditions of their medical leave.
Police Data Could Reveal Sick Leave Abuse
Perinski said the proposed system is intended as a preventive tool and would not automatically result in penalties for people who travel while on sick leave.
Officials want to identify cases in which medical leave is potentially being used for vacations or other activities unrelated to treatment and recovery.
The number of short-term sick leave cases has increased by approximately 33%, rising from around 270,000 annually to more than 321,000. During the same period, the number of people reporting illnesses increased by only about 6%.
The sharp difference between those figures prompted the Health Insurance Fund to review the existing system.
Perinski also said family doctors sometimes face pressure from patients to issue medical leave certificates, adding that the system must remain available to people who genuinely need it.
Home Checks and Shorter Leave From Family Doctors
Under the proposed changes, the maximum sick leave period that a family doctor could approve would be reduced from seven days to five.
Inspectors could also visit an employee’s registered address when the diagnosis and medical instructions require home treatment and rest.
They would not be allowed to enter the residence or conduct a medical examination. Their role would be limited to checking whether the person is present at home.
If the employee is not found, they would not automatically lose their right to sick leave. Instead, they would be referred to a medical commission and asked to explain their absence.
The Health Insurance Fund has also reported an increase in requests from employers seeking reviews of employees’ medical leave. Many requests currently arrive after the leave has already ended, limiting the effectiveness of the inspection.
Officials therefore want the new system to enable real-time checks while protecting the rights of employees who are legitimately unable to work.
